Hope For the Hopeless
by EverTheDreamer
Summary: She'd had about as much of his nonsense as she was gonna take. Hell if she'd take him back now! Not even if he crawled on his hands and knees and begged her! He could have his precious Hope Harcourt. She didn't need him. She was Reno Sweeney, damn it!


He heard his door creak open, heels clicking across the floor as it closed again, and sat up in response.

"Hope?" he breathed, praying to any God that was willing to listen. He _wanted_ it to be her. He wanted _her_.

He hated that she was engaged to this _Lord Evelyn_... And what kind of name was Evelyn?!

Warm, plump lips molded to his, kissing him hungrily, in response. Long fingers tangled in his hair and a lean, deliciously curved body covered his.

He sighed, pushing her away and turning on the light. "Reno."

She smiled back, batting her eyelashes and pushing her body harder against him so he could feel her heart racing in her chest. "Yes, Billy?"

"What are you doing?" he asked dryly. He didn't have _time_ for this. If he was going to win back Hope, he didn't have time for any of Reno's games; he needed _sleep_.

"You must be out of practice if you have to ask," she smirked, running the pads of her fingers down his chest as she started leaving hot kisses up the side of his neck.

"Reno, stop. I'm serious," he warned, not responding to her touch.

"Of _course_ you are, Billy. You've just been so _tense_ these past few days. I thought you could use some help _relaxing_..." she purred before playfully biting his earlobe. "And we _both_ know how good I am at getting you to relax." She let her fingertips play over his thigh.

"Stop it, Reno. I need to get some sleep. I have things to do tomorrow."

She rolled her eyes, sighing irritably before pushing him back against his pillows and straddling him. She kissed him hungrily again, leading one of his hands to the back of her head to let his fingers tangle in her fiery hair. "You've got things to do _tonight_," she growled.

Billy pushed her away, getting out of bed and pacing, "Reno, I _can't_. _We_ can't.... I only want Hope; I _love_ her."

"You weren't saying that a week ago," she smirked, pulling slowly on the ties to her long, white, satin robe. "A week ago, you were _begging_ me for more and moaning my name."

"Stop," he breathed, running his fingers through his hair and looking away from her. "You have to go. You have to _leave your robe on_ and go."

She kissed his shoulder slowly, leaving hot, open-mouthed kisses along the tensed muscles there, as she let her fingertips run up and down his arms. "You don't really _want_ that, Billy," she whispered huskily. "Do you?"

He felt her skin burning against his bare back, her flesh mostly bare... She'd taken off the robe. And he _knew_ if turned around he was gonna see Reno Sweeney in her bra and panties; her full breasts concealed only by thin lace, her trim body exposed. Her plump lips painted a red that contrasted beautifully with the fiery shade of her hair.

"Reno, put your robe back on," he forced out. "I don't _feel_ the way for you that I do for Hope. You have to go."

"Hope?" she echoed, a slight coldness detectable in her husky whisper. "That under-sexed, naive little _twit_ could never '_hope_' to make you feel what _I_ can, Billy. And you know it."

Her fingers were warm when she slipped them around his waist, letting them gently caress his rippling abdomen muscles before trailing lower.

"You have to go," he repeated, closing his eyes against the sight of her long, slender fingers as she pulled his length out of his boxers.

"Shh," she soothed, turning him around and pushing him against the wall of his cabin. Her fingers still wrapped around his length, she started trailing hot kisses from his collar bone down the center of his chest. "I can help you relax, Billy-baby."

He groaned in the back of his throat before growling and pushing her away from him so that she fell backwards onto the bed. "I told you to _go_," he snarled, fixing his boxers before grabbing the robe the room supplied him with and tying the sash.

"Oh, come on," Reno cooed, pouting up at him. "You don't-"

"Yes I _do_," he ground out, grabbing her roughly by the arm with one hand and grabbing her robe with the other. He shoved her in the direction of the door before tossing her silken robe at her. "I trust you can show yourself out since you didn't have a problem letting yourself _in_. _Goodnight_, Ms. Sweeney."

"B-But, Billy," she started, almost laughing.

"I said _goodnight_," he seethed. He turned around, leaving her just inside his room.

* * *

She swallowed past thick tears as she walked along the empty deck of the ship, her heels and sniffling being the only thing breaking the silence. She flicked her thumb over the back of her cigarette holder, sending ash flying behind herself before she brought it back to her lips to take another slow drag.

"That _bastard_. How _dare_ he!? No one turns Reno Sweeney down. Reno Sweeney turns _them_ down. ...Does he have any idea who I _am_?" she asked the empty ship as she stared at her cigarette holder. Luckily, it was red so her lipstick wouldn't stain it.

… Neither would that bastard's blood if she rammed it down his throat.

"That _bastard!_" she repeated, almost trembling. … Though that could be more due to the air whipping off the sea while she was clad only in her silken robe. "I am the most famous person on this damn boat. I have the most talent; I'm the prettiest. … That _Goddamn idiot_. Who does he think he _is_!? Turning _me_ down!?"

Reno leaned against the rail, blowing smoke into the air so that it came back and hit her in the face. It was a comforting smell, she decided. She flicked ash over the rail, watching it until it disappeared in the waves.

She'd had about as much of his nonsense as she was gonna take. Hell if she'd take him back now! Not even if he crawled on his hands and knees and begged her!

No. He could _have_ his precious _Hope Harcourt_. See if _she_ cared!

She didn't. Not one bit. No. She could have any man she wanted. She didn't need _him_. She was Reno Sweeney, damn it!

She sighed, flicking the ash from her cigarette behind her.

"You really ought to be more careful. You could burn the ship down," a voice said behind her.

Reno turned around, pursing her lips distastefully before purposefully repeating the action.

"You don't seem dressed to be out at night," Hope commented, leaning against the rail beside the redhead.

"Did I ask for comments from the peanut gallery?" she snapped before taking another drag on her cigarette.

"... Can I bum a smoke?" she asked quietly, breaking the silence.

She sighed before pulling her pack of cigarettes out of the robe of her pocket and offering her one, replacing the pack in her pocket and handing over a lighter.

"... You don't like me much," she stated.

It wasn't a question, which was just as well cause stupid questions irked her.

She shook her head and continued staring out at the ocean, "Not particularly."

"How come?" Hope whispered, looking over at her.

Reno shot her a glare, as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh... Billy," she nodded.

"Of _course_ Billy, you _twit_," she snapped, narrowing her dark eyes. "You don't understand how good you got it. He _loves_ you. He wants to _marry you_." The wind was blowing her hair, making it look even more like fire. "And you keep _pushing him away_."

"I-I-"

"_'I-I-'_" she mocked, screwing up her features in an angry scowl. "You _what_? He's told you a half dozen times. And everyone but your blind mother sees that you love him too. But you're leading him on and _toying_ with him.... And that's just cruel."

"I'm _engaged_," she tried to explain. "I can't just give that up."

"He risked everything for you," she shot back. She gestured behind her, "His _boss_ is on this ship. If he gets caught, he'll be fired. But he risked it in order to win your heart.... But that _obviously_ doesn't matter to you. Billy's not _rich_. He doesn't have the _prestige_ of that _Lord_ you're going to marry." She shook her head angrily, starting away.

"I never-"

Reno spun back around, her plump lips curled in a snarl. "You know what, Billy may not be the _richest_, or the _smartest_, or a _British Lord_, but he is a damn. Good. Guy. And he deserves better than to be yanked around by some _damn dame_," she growled.

"Listen here! I'm not gonna just stand here and _take_ this from you. I'm not gonna take any more of your nonsense!" Hope finally snapped.

She chuckled, stepping closer, "You're gonna take all the nonsense I give ya and you're gonna _like_ it!" She threw the smoldering butt of her cigarette at the blonde's feet, chuckling again when she yelped and kicked it through the bars of the rail.

"You idiot! You could've burned the whole ship down!" she screeched.

"You're the idiot if you let him go," the redhead whispered before turning away.

* * *

"I know what you're thinking," Reno said, standing outside Billy's room—she'd knocked this time. "But I'm really only here cause I left my key here earlier. If you give me two minutes, I'll be out of your hair in no time."

Billy stepped aside, motioning for her to come in.

Sighing, she started looking around, crawling on her hands and knees as she searched. What were the _odds_ that it would have fallen out of her robe pocket?!

".. You could help, ya know," she said pointedly.

"I suppose I should, being a good guy and all," he smirked.

"Yeah, you sh-... What did you just say?" she stopped looking, tilting her head to the side.

"Well, I'm not the richest or the smartest or a-"

"You followed me," she accused, pushing herself to her feet. "It's not polite to eavesdrop on the conversations of ladies."

"I only saw heard one lady so I figured I'd be okay," he winked, teasing.

"Yeah, well, before you go gettin' any ideas, I didn't mean what I said," she lied, pursing her lips and looking overly sure of herself. "... Except for the not being the smartest. I was just tryin' to put in a good word for you with that damn dame you're so crazy about."

"You _love_ me," Billy sang, still teasing as he advanced on her.

"You _wish_," she shot back, crossing her arms.

"You _love_ me," he repeated, trying to pull her into his arms.

"Hey, you were the one who followed _me_," she pointed out, smirking as she pushed him away.

"Well, I figured you'd need your key," he held it up, brandishing it.

"You knew where it was this whole time and let me crawl around looking for it!?" she swatted at him, glaring in fake anger.

"I liked the view I got," he shrugged, pulling her flush against him.

She growled in response, wrapping her arms around his neck, "I bet you did."

"Maybe I'm not as good a guy as you think," he murmured quietly, his fingers slipping past her robe to brush against smooth, bare flesh.

Reno forced herself to swallow before looking pointedly catching his eyes, "That's good cause I'm not as good a dame as you think I am."

"Oh, now _there_ you're wrong," he smiled, wrapping an arm around her waist. "I _know_ you're naughty, Reno. But I also know how _good_ you are at _being_ naughty." He wrapped his other arm around her waist, easily picking her up and carrying her to the bed.

She laughed naughtily, throwing her head back and exposing her slender throat to him. His mouth descended, kissing and licking and sucking at smooth flesh and making her nearly squeal in response. "Billy!" she gasped, laughing breathlessly.

"Tell me you love me," he whispered in her ear, his palms hot against her skin as they ran down her sides.

His suddenly slow, focused, open-mouthed kisses below her ear made it difficult to draw breath. "I-Oh, Billy," she purred beneath him, running her fingers up his arms.

"You do, don't you?" Billy breathed, repositioning himself so he could pull her lacy underwear over her hips and down her shapely legs. He tossed them aside, starting to help her shed herself of her bra. He ran his fingertips slowly down her stomach, the pads of them moving between her thighs to feel how wet she was for him. He pushed his thumb against her clit, making her eyelids flutter as she swallowed noisily. He kissed down her bare chest—his tongue laboring over taut, dusky rose colored buds—as his fingers continued teasing her. "Reno... Don't you?"

She forced her eyes open, her rich chocolate ones meeting his blazing green ones. Her mouth open and closed as she fought for breath. "I-I love you, Billy Crocker," she choked out before the exploration of his fingers made her gasp sharply and toss her head back.

His mouth moved back up her body, capturing her plump lips in a fierce kiss as his hard length thrust into her.

She drew her legs up on either side of his hips, small, throaty mewls of pleasure escaping her as she rocked her hips in time with his.

"Tell me again," he breathed against her lips; he was leaning his forearms on either side of her head and her nails were digging into his back and leaving pulsating tracks in their wake.

"I love you," she repeated, her lips finding his again. "Oh, _God_, Billy..."

"Wh-what's this?" he panted teasingly. "The evangelist- taking the- Lord's name in vain?"

"Shut up and do me harder," she groaned, arching beneath him. "Y-_yes_. D-deeper! _Mnmm...God,_ _yes_._"_

"See, this- is what- I meant by- _naughty_," he growled, licking and sucking a path down her neck.

"Would your precious, darling _Hope _do this with you outside of marriage?" she shot back, a particularly deep thrust making her tremble and arch, her voice dropping off in a sharp gasp. When he didn't answer, she forced herself to look back at him, her long, slender fingers cupping his cheek. "Or is that why famed bachelor Billy Crocker wants to marry darling Hope Harcourt?"

His eyes refused to meet hers and he, instead, busied himself by thrusting deeper and harder into her.

"B-_Billy_!" she squealed, his thrusts now forcing the air from her lungs.

"Shut up, Reno," he huffed, his thrusts now more focused.

"... You love me, don't you?" she managed, her voice both awed and accusatory. "You _know_ we belong together."

He didn't answer, his pace becoming less measured. He moved a hand between them again, his fingers pressing against her clit and making her moan loudly.

"B-_Billy_!" Reno gasped, whimpering through a sharp breath as she arched beneath him. She threaded her fingers though his hair, pulling his mouth to her own and kissing him hungrily.

Billy growled into her mouth when she squeezed him between her thighs, releasing inside her and making her groan and do the same.

Afterwards, when she was lying curled against him, one arm draped possessively over his stomach and her head pillowed by his chest, he ran his fingers through her fiery tresses. "... I do love you, Reno," he admitted softly as she dozed. "But... You know I can't back down. Billy Crocker, he... He always gets his girl. I-I can't just let Hope _reject_ me..."

She continued sleeping soundly against him, throwing one of her legs over him in her sleep. He ran his palm slowly over her smooth thigh, caressing softly and making her purr in her sleep.

"Besides, I don't deserve a dame like you... Not after the way I've treated you. You deserve better..." He kissed her head, lightly smoothing her frizzy hair down, "Like that British lord. _He_ can give you everything you deserve, Reno. At least... I hope he can."


End file.
